Choosing H/T tires

Hey, so it's a tire selection question but not one about fitting bigger tires or gas mileage for once. My work truck is coming up on needing new tires soon, and I'm looking at options for H/T tires in 245/75R16. Currently running Yokoma Geolandar H/Ts and have had no complaints in close to three years of use so far, but I'm also looking at the Falken Wildpeak HT02s for potentially better wet weather performance and toughness. Anyone have experience comparing either or both of these tires long term?




For context:
Truck is a 2017 2wd SR5 that does 90% highway and 10% dirt / gravel roads and construction sites, currently about to hit 190K miles. In the winter wet weather performance is important for jobs in the mountains where rain and snow are possible. Puncture resistance is a plus as running over screws/nails is basically inevitable. No need for A/T or wider tires since I use my personal 4wd truck with Falken AT3Ws for anything where actual offroad or snow is expected.

 

Michelin ltx ms 2 or defender are the best IMO.

I had the ltx ms 2 on my previous Tacoma and had great experience with them…

 

I’d never heard of h/t tires. After a small amount of research I don’t understand how they differ from all season tires.

EDIT: further research suggests that h/t tires fit between all-season and summer/performance tires.

In any case, the majority of answers you are going to get are, “I bought this tire and it’s the best ever.” Few people have tested enough tires under the same conditions to have an opinion that should sway you one way or another,

 

I thought H/T stood for highway tread.

 

If you had good luck with your current tires just stick with what u have . If you are looking for a tougher tire a highway tire is not it . Falkens I heard wear prematurely. Have u considered the bfg trail terrains they are great tires for on and light off road . It’s a in between tire not a highway tire and not a true all terrain tire .

 

I've had the Michelin Defender LTX MS^2 multiple times on 2 vehicles that needed good off road traction - but only 5% of the time. (e.g. 100 Series Landcruiser). I would recommend these for most applications. Outstanding tires that positively surprise you in all conditions.

The Wildpeak AT3ws do wear a bit fast. They are soft and able to deliver great wet & ice traction - therefore highway threadwear is compromised. The Wildpeaks H/T most certainly have a different rubber compound to cater to heavy highway use. I do not have any experience with those, but I see that they have a high mileage rating. I would look into them before assuming they will wear quick like the AT3w version.

 

I am looking for something similar to what you are looking for. I am thinking about the Firestone LE3 or the Toyo Open Country HT II. At Sams Club they are both $162 after the Firestone $80 rebate is figured in on the $182 LE3. The Michelin Defender LTX M/S are $256 minus a $70 rebate on four tires. I question if the Michelin is that much better than the LE3.

 

Currently i'm trying Michellin defender m/s2 for the first time personally. lot of good reviews on it but unless you drive a ton I feel Michelins will dry rot before they wear out.

For my first hand recommendation, I would go with Firestone destination LE3's

 

Michelin LTX M/S for me great tires. Had Firestones original tires on the truck and one tire belt came apart at 30 k. so it made sense to replace all tires than getting just one new one while all other 3 were worn.

 

Tire Rack is your friend. Read the reviews and ratings of tires they list. The site is pretty easy to use and navigate.

 

Goodyear Wrangler® Steadfast HT flies under the radar. Similar to the Defenders, but has a lower base price and additional discounts are available.

 

These are really good tires, don't know if they are available for 16 inch rims. My work previously used Fortitude HT but have switched to Steadfast HT as the Fortitude's are being phased out. Very good tires, they are great in very rainy conditions. I will note that they are noticably heavier then other tires of the same size. When I replace my truck tires I plan on going with Steadfast HT.
They also have a cool tread depth indicated scale built in that I have never seen on other tires.

 

All tires will dry rot. People make this comment more frequently with Michelins because the tread lasts so long. Your Firestones will dry rot as well at the same age as Michelins. The problem is the tread will be long gone before that can happen.

 

Michelin defender tires as stated several times, are great for your use

I’d specifically recommend the defender LTX A/T2, great tire designed to last on gravel

 

I agree with you but the only reason i'll argue this point a bit is because working at the dealership the michelins on any vehicle of similar year and as early as 1 year old would show weather cracking. By year 3 the weather cracking was close to being compromising. My dad also swore by michelins and would experience the same thing. Most other brands would crack alot slower and in fact i've seen many other brands at 6,7,8 years old with the same cracking level as a 2nd year michelin. Not saying they're a bad tire as i'm even currently running them but, they do crack quite quickly.

I will say that i've been out of the shop for a year now so maybe they changed. I guess i'm the guinea pig now

 

I had Michelin tires on my 2014 Venza went through 2 sets in 8 years and replaced them with new ones when worn and never seen any weather cracks on them. I have Michelins on my 2021 Tacoma have no sign yet so will have to wait and see if they crack, could it be Michelin had bad batch of tires on certains years.

 

That is possible however from 2015-2023 i've seen michellins consistently crack and in the case of whatever came stock on terrains/equinox's (I forgot the model) the tread blocks on the edge would separate

 

Yeah, I had a set of michellins do that

At ~8 years and 100k miles. Still plenty of tread but the rubber aged too much